Anna Sewa Saptah from tomorrow in Assam

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: Following a directive from Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, the Commissionerate of Food, Public Distribution, and Consumers’ Affairs will observe the seven days from November 10–16 as Anna Sewa Saptah. Now onward, the Commissionerate will observe the 10th to 16th of every month as Anna Sewa Saptah.

According to sources in the Commissionerate, ration cardholders will lift their PDS rice from fair price shops only within Anna Sewa Saptah, not before the 10th or beyond the 16th of every month.

The distribution of food grains will be through ‘e-PoS’ devices installed in each fair price shop. Beneficiaries must get themselves Aadhaar authenticated using fingerprints through the e-PoS device to lift their entitled quantity of rice at no cost.

The Commissionerate also said that the e-PoS would activate automatically at 6 a.m. on the 10th of every month and close automatically at 10 p.m. on the 16th of every month. The closure of the e-PoS leaves no chance for the distribution of food grains to the ration cardholders.

To make this system operational, FCI (Food Corporation of India) has already provided food grains to the GPSS (Gaon Panchayat Samabai Samitis) for the month of November. Over 70 percent of the fair price shops have received food grains from the GPSS till this afternoon, and the remaining 30 percent will receive them by tomorrow.

The state has 34,300 fair price shops.

This system is in accordance with the new SOP (standard operating procedure) regarding the allocation, lifting, transportation, and distribution of food grains under PDS in the state. During Anna Sewa Saptah, the fair price shops will remain open throughout the day.

Food, Public Distribution, and Consumer Affairs Minister Ranjeet Kumar Dass said, “To ensure proper distribution of food grains under NFSA, we have adopted a new SOP. Hence, the beneficiaries should collect food grains from the 10th to the 16th of every month.”

Also Read:   Assam: 100s of Bighas of Rice Cultivation Under Attack by Pests

Also watch: